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Great Galley (Ship)
Description An improved version of the Dromond, the Great Galley is a groundling vessel intended to serve as a fast trader and warship in coastal waters. On the seas, with its 140 oars and 3 sails, a Great Galley outclasses a Dromond, but it adapts very poorly to space. The Great Galley handles so poorly in space that it suffers a -1 penalty to SR in addition to having MC F. In an attempt to make up for these severe shortcomings, the Dromond carries very heavy weaponry for a ship its size, however this is often not enough to deter potential attackers, especially if such attackers are able to stay out of range of the weapons and attack the Great Galley from a distance. Most spacefarers using a Great Galley will attempt to acquire a more suitable vessel as soon as possible. Crew On the water a Great Galley will typically carry a crew of 150 men, 140 of whom are rowers and 10 of whom are sailors. In addition, if serving as a warship, the Great Galley may carry as many as 150 soldiers. Needless to say, taking such a large crew into space would be suicidal for all but the shortest of journeys. Instead, a Great Galley in space will typically carry about 40 men, which still limits the length of journeys the craft can undertake, but not to the same degree as a full crew.Great Galleys powered by Oars of the Void will often carry larger crews in order to operate extra sets of Oars. Ship Uses Experimental Vessel: Most Great Galleys found in space are there as a result of a groundling culture's first experiments with space travel. These ships are typically 'testing the waters' so to speak, in order to determine if spelljamming is a good investment. If they survive long enough, these ships usually return with the reccomendation that different ships be used for any future endeavors. Troop Transport: The next most common usage of Great Galleys in space is to serve as a short range troop transport. These ships are usually powered by Oars of the Void, and will be used to carry as many as 300 men on journeys that will usually last less than a week. When used in this manner, it is highly desirable for the Great Galley to be escorted in order to avoid having it destroyed by an enemy before it delivers its troops. Trader: A very small number of Great Galleys are used as trading vessels in the safer areas of space. Usually the owners of such ships are attempting to make enough money to purchase a better ship. Other Configurations War Galley: A War Galley is a Great Galley which has had its hull thickened and reinforced, mounts a piercing ram, and carries a greek fire projector in addition to its normal weaponry. The AR is improved to 6, but the cargo space drops to only 3 tons. Like the similar modification found on the War Dromond, this is actually a modification intended for use on the seas, and it will usually only be seen in space when used as a short range defense craft by groundling nations. Such ships will carry their full groundling crew, and will usually be powered by a full 16 pairs of Oars of the Void for maximum speed. Like the War Dromonds, these craft are dangerous, but are limited to extremely short range use.